Programs · Episode

MOZART: The Marriage of Figaro

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, July 1, 2023 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

Deep down, as with many of Mozart's "comedies," Figaro isn't as funny as it first seems, with plenty of telling human foibles, heartbreak and even treachery, all lurking beneath a slapstick veneer — and illuminated by page after page of glorious music. At the Opera takes a sort of whirlwind trip through Mozart's comedy, with some of the finest recordings of the opera ever made, featuring singers including Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Samuel Ramey, Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stada, and many others.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic, London Opera Chorus
London 410150

CAST:  Thomas Allen (Count Almaviva); Kiri Te Kanawa (Countess Almaviva); Lucia Popp (Susanna); Samuel Ramey (Figaro); Frederica von Stade (Cherubino); Jane Berbié (Marcellina); Kurt Moll (Doctor Bartolo)

Erich Kleiber, conductor
Vienna Philharmonic
Decca 4781720

CAST:  Alfred Poell (Count Almaviva); Lisa della Casa (Countess Almaviva); Hilde Gueden (Susanna); Cesare Siepi (Figaro); Suzanne Danco (Cherubino); Hilde Rossel-Majdan (Marcellina); Fernando Corena (Doctor Bartolo)

Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus
EMI 763266

CAST:  Eberhard Wächter (Count Almaviva); Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Countess Almaviva); Anna Moffo (Susanna); Giuseppe Taddei (Figaro); Fiorenza Cosotto (Cherubino); Dora Gatta (Marcellina); Ivo Vinco (Doctor Bartolo)

René Jacobs, conductor
Concerto Köln
Harmonia Mundi 901818

CAST:  Simon Keenlyside (Count Almaviva); Véronique Gens (Countess Almaviva); Patrizia Ciofi (Susanna); Lorenzo Regazzo (Figaro); Angelika Kirchschlager (Cherubino); Marie McLaughlin (Marcellina); Antonio Abete (Doctor Bartolo)

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